


sea of trauma

by peterandhispirate



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Chapter 3: Clemens Point (Red Dead Redemption 2), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 11:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17661917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterandhispirate/pseuds/peterandhispirate
Summary: The incident in Rhodes leaves Arthur in desperate need of comfort.Albert is more than willing to hold him.





	sea of trauma

Arthur had seen a lot of things over the years. Good things, sure, but plenty of bad things, too. Memories that made his heart wither a little bit more each time they crossed his mind.

Nothing quite compared to Sean's death.

It had been so quick. Bullet, meet skull. Body, meet ground. Blood. So much blood. Enough to bathe in. Enough to drown in.

Arthur was drowning.

He knew how to swim - how to bring himself to shore. He was his own personal lifeguard, an expert at treading water even when it rose well above his chin. All those bad things he'd seen? They were the drops that made up his ocean. The image of Sean's brains splattered across the road was just the straw that broke the cowboy's back. He was finally going under.

Arthur's head was so clogged with water that he was scarcely aware of which direction he was riding in. He just closed his eyes and let the horse do the leading, hands gripping the reins so tight that his knuckles lost all color. Maybe he was trying to anchor himself. Maybe he couldn't feel a goddamn thing.

 _Ain't_ _gonna_ _cry_. _Ain't_ _gonna_ _cry_. _Ain't_ _gonna_ -

"Mister Morgan!"

Arthur opened his eyes.

As if by some miracle, or stroke of luck, or work of God, Albert was waving to him from the top of a golden hill, outlined by the late-afternoon sunlight and smiling in that way only he could.

The sight of him in all his tenderness was like a lungful of fresh air, and the relief was so mind-numbing that Arthur practically fell out of the saddle. He dragged himself up that hill on legs that trembled, legs that teetered, legs that buckled before he could reach the top. But Albert met him halfway, reaching out to him with hands that oozed concern.

Arthur hated worrying people.

"Mister Morgan? Dear God, are you all right? Do you need a doctor?" The longer Arthur went without responding, the more panic seeped into the cracks of Albert's voice. "Arthur?"

Arthur had buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking so bad that he seemed to be on the brink of collapse. "Couldn't see it comin'. Couldn't do _nothin’._ Not a single goddamn thing."

"Tell me what you need, Arthur," Albert insisted, kneeling beside him, and Arthur's confusion made it clear that he'd more or less forgotten he _had_ needs.

"Just- could you- shit." He rubbed clumsily at his eyes with the back of one hand. "I dunno how to ask."

He didn't need to finish, because Albert understood perfectly. In no time at all Arthur found himself enveloped in the world’s warmest set of arms; he went deathly still at first, breathless and unfamiliar with such blatant kindness, but the moment passed and he pressed his face into Albert’s neck.

“You’re safe now, mister Morgan.” Gentle fingers combed their way through Arthur’s hair. “I’ve got you.”

“Shoulda seen it,” Arthur croaked against his skin, eyes blistering with tears. “Poor kid got his head blown in half. Just like that. Gone.”

“That’s... I can’t even imagine. I’m so very sorry.”

Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle, raspy and weak. “He’d prob’ly laugh, seein’ me like this. I’m makin’ a fool of myself.”

“You most certainly are _not_ ,” Albert said, leaning back to look him in the eye. “If anyone’s a fool, it’s me.”

Somehow, some way, Arthur managed a smile. It was shaky, and small, but no less sincere. And it was with that same sincerity that Arthur looked at him and said, “Missed you and your stupid hat.”

Albert had brought him to shore.

**Author's Note:**

> @arthrmxrgan on tumblr :)


End file.
